The Frugal Lifestyle

[Miss Scarlett]

I try to reuse or recycle as much as possible...

I adore scented candles but some are frightfully expensive (Yankee Candles). When mine have burned down I melt the remaining wax and pour it into a jar that I've added a wick to and make my own layered candles. The jars are from previous candles and I buy the wicks Michaels.

Since I'm a Bath & Body Works junkie I wait until I get a great coupon and/or when they have an awesome sale. Last year I really stocked up on Moonlight Path (the only fragrance I wear) and still have enough to last well into 2013.

Makeup remover towelettes are great but they are costly. I buy a pack and tear them into 3 or 4 strips. Since I only use them to remove my waterproof mascara and eyeliner it doesn't make sense to use the entire cloth. Oh, I discovered by accident that they are wonderful for cleaning my bathroom sink, counter and faucet...get them super clean...LOL

I stopped using body wash too. Bar soaps are less expensive and Dial makes a wonderful glycerin soap.

My other toiletries are purchased only when they are on sale or when one of my local grocers has a triple coupon promotion.

Thanks to the Gas Buddy app on my iPhone I can find the lowest gas prices near me.

Another thing I did was to stop using the debit card from my checking account. I found that paying by cash makes me more aware of what I am spending.

No more bottled water for me as well. At home I have a Brita pitcher and for work I have one of those Brita bottles.

Internet is something else I no longer have at home. Instead I use my iPhone. I'm already paying for data on it so it doesn't make sense to double up. There is a downside, i.e. can't post in the gallery here or access some sites that rely on Flash. But if I need to I can take my laptop to Starbucks and use their wifi.

[Nat]

Re-store is awesome - don't have one too close.

I'm not fabulous at frugality, but M is which I very much appreciate.

[Metro]

Originally Posted by Chancie

I bought my not very big, not very fancy house when I was in my 40s and then I refinanced it when I was in my late 40s to save almost $200 a month.

I want to try to pay off my thirty year mortgage because I didn't start teaching in a public school until I was 42, and I won't be able to afford my mortgage when I retire.

I emailed my very helpful local bank manager and he said I'd need to pay about $770 extra a month to principal in order to pay off my mortgage by the end of the school year when I turn 60 years old.

I don't have to tell you how impossible that sounds, so I will just pay about $87 a month towards principal, which will shave off a few years.

But, it's important to me to be able to choose whether I stay here when I retire, so I have been thinking a lot about how to manage my budget with an eye towards the future.

Something to ponder...

This solution may not work for you (Chancie) or your particular circumstances, but it might be of interest to others who are seeking ways to boost their income to achieve specific life goals.

A friend of mine rents extra bedrooms in his home through an online rental service (i.e. airbnb.com) and has been quite successful in doing so. He decides when, for how long, and whom he wants to host -- the site takes care of all of the pre-rental communication and payments. IMHO, his particular success hinges on the fact that he lives in a town that has a lot of seasonal tourists, plus he lives in a convenient and safe neighborhood in that town.

Renting rooms in ones home may not be desirable nor feasible for many, but it is an option that has provided my friend with several hundred dollars in extra income per month. University towns may also have good potential for this kind of setup. NOTE: My grandmother did this sort of thing in the 1960s (and also during WWII), so the concept is not unfamiliar to me.

[Bit]

That's a really interesting idea, Metro. I didn't know there were companies that helped to set things up like that.

Chancie, I know it might sound counter to what you wish, but if you decide to stay in your house, have you considered refinancing again--this time to lower the payment to what you can afford when you retire? You could continue paying each month as if you had not refinanced, but when you retire you could drop down to the lower payment without any penalties. It might give you some breathing space.

Ursy, I love that windowshade solar oven!

Gryph and I are also trying to be more frugal but I'm having a rough time trying to grow food--although my three surviving raspberry vines are tickling me pink by giving me berries in November--still, I think the effort is worth it even if the Kansas learning curve IS steep. Sheesh, now I know why Kansas was the place that broke so many pioneers! The weather is brutal on gardens!

[Ursy]

Nat, what is re-store? I don't think we have them in Australia?

Cath, just looked up weather in Kansas - 13 degrees c - I'm jealous! We're in the middle of a heatwave! But I guess I shouldn't complain, our climate is much better for gardening. I think I can pretty much garden all year 'round.

I can't imagine trying to garden somewhere when it snows... I imagine it would be... impossible? Close to impossible?

[Bit]

LOL! {{{{{{{{{{{{Urs}}}}}}}}}}}}}} You garden during the three seasons when it doesn't snow, and the soil rests when it does snow. Unless you are a fanatic who uses hoop houses and/or cold frames. Not that I am such a fanatic, oh no, not I.... *just wait'll I get my hands on some money!*

http://westsidegardener.com/howto/hoophouse.html Scroll down for pics. The thing about a hoophouse is that it covers an entire garden bed and you can walk inside it. It would work to hold shadecloth in the summer too.

http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/coldframes coldframes are generally smaller than a garden bed, and they have lids you can open to reach in and harvest.

Re-Store is the name Habitat for Humanity gives its retail stores, because they sell used and reclaimed building supplies, appliances, furniture, etc.

[Ursy]

Originally Posted by Bit

LOL! {{{{{{{{{{{{Urs}}}}}}}}}}}}}} You garden during the three seasons when it doesn't snow, and the soil rests when it does snow. Unless you are a fanatic who uses hoop houses and/or cold frames. Not that I am such a fanatic, oh no, not I.... *just wait'll I get my hands on some money!*

http://westsidegardener.com/howto/hoophouse.html Scroll down for pics. The thing about a hoophouse is that it covers an entire garden bed and you can walk inside it. It would work to hold shadecloth in the summer too.

http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/coldframes coldframes are generally smaller than a garden bed, and they have lids you can open to reach in and harvest.

Re-Store is the name Habitat for Humanity gives its retail stores, because they sell used and reclaimed building supplies, appliances, furniture, etc.

Oooh Catie! I like the look of *both* the hoophouses and the cold frames
They would also be good for keeping critters at bay as well, I imagine!

Thanks for the explanation about Re-Store. We have a place in our town that operates on the same principle, it's called Reverse Garbage. I think it's a wonderful idea.

[Bit]

Reverse Garbage! lol!!! Love that name.

I think hoophouses and coldframes keep four-legged critters out, and even two-legged winged critters... but bugs can still get in and then they're just as protected as the plants, so it pays to watch for signs of infestation. Now the advantage we have here where it freezes is that one can get a coldframe or hoophouse up and the plants growing in the very earliest spring (while it's still snowing) before the bugs hatch out. It might be a little more difficult for you if your winters are mild... but then, if your winters are mild you don't need the coldframe!

I know when I was gardening in the desert though, I often wished for a structure with shade cloth to protect my plants. What stunned me is that I need one here in Kansas, too... sheesh, full-service weather: we broil AND we freeze. *eyeroll*

[ArtistLady]

This is a subject written just for me lol. I could write pages about this but I will keep it brief. I make my own household cleaners, laundry detergent,candles and air freshener, about once a week I cook a couple of big meals and then freeze them into "tv dinner" sizes, I usually have my own vegetable garden (unfortunately I didn't have the time this last summer ), I am a thrift store junkie and I recycle and re-purpose. In addition I realized I am quite the pack rat and I have been working on downsizing all the junk I have accumulated. It isn't easy but I am determined!!

[Ginger]

I get pre-tax dollars taken out of my paycheck to be put aside for my monthly Metro card (for the subway).

I'm going to dial down my cable subscription as soon as Homeland ends this Sunday. Then in the spring I'll ramp it up—with on Demand, too—just for a couple weeks, to catch up on the entire season of Enlightened and whatever else starts in January 2013.

With what I save, I'm joining a gym.

Also, I take my lunch every day and drink mate in my office instead of buying coffee. I'm saving over $250 a month doing that.

[Ginger]

Update. I joined a gym tonight. My old gym was asking for $88 a month, plus a sign-on fee. I asked them to waive the sign-on fee, and they offered to cut it in half, but I said their competitor didn't have a sign-on fee and it was just as easy to get off the 2 train and go to their competitor's gym on my way home as it was to get off the 2 train a few stops later and go theirs.

But they weren't buying it. So I said I'd have to think about it (secretly, I wanted my old gym, for nostalgic reasons I would never admit in a negotiation). And the guy tried to pressure me, saying this deal was just for me and wouldn't last long and I said, "I'll take my chances." (It felt so bad ass to say that!)

Then at work I was talking to a guy and we started looking on line at a gym he'd heard of in our part of Brooklyn that is new and supposedly very very cheap, and on the way home I checked out two of their facilities, and picked one.

It's huge, bright, nice safe friendly vibe, has the kind of stationary weight machines I'm used to, everything I need.

And check this out, it's only $99 a year, only $8.25 a month, as opposed to ten times that for the gym in my more immediate neighborhood.

I can't believe it's so much cheaper. Okay, it doesn't have a steam room or sauna or hip hop DJ on thursday nights or pole dancing classes or yoga or personal trainers—but I don't even care about those things.

And I can get there and work out and still be home by 7:30 or so. It's really convenient.

[Sweet_Amor_Taino]

A well planned meal offers us the nutrition we need to be healthy. I recently cut down my hours with my private client to rest I had been pushing to a point of exhaustion. Now I am able to enjoy cooking from scratch, baking a cake which I had not done in years due to lack of time. I also like shopping at the thrift store you could find great and expensive stuff there, for less. Freezing meals is a great Idea it saves time and money, I will try it. Thank you for sharing.

Originally Posted by ArtistLady

This is a subject written just for me lol. I could write pages about this but I will keep it brief. I make my own household cleaners, laundry detergent,candles and air freshener, about once a week I cook a couple of big meals and then freeze them into "tv dinner" sizes, I usually have my own vegetable garden (unfortunately I didn't have the time this last summer ), I am a thrift store junkie and I recycle and re-purpose. In addition I realized I am quite the pack rat and I have been working on downsizing all the junk I have accumulated. It isn't easy but I am determined!!

[Sweet_Amor_Taino]

I recently had similar conversation with my daughter and the bottle water was a topic. I bought her a Brita bottle and filter I told her she could save at least $200 every 3 months and she did not have to carry the battles lol

Originally Posted by Sachita

My adult son recently moved out for the third time. Times are tough, which is why he lived here 4 months and while he was here he complained about how much money going out to eat would cost. I told him to give 25.00 a week and I'd help him. I bought milk, cereal, stuff for sandwiches, pasta, etc. I didnt cook for him everyday but made stuff available to him and often made him leftovers, sandwiches, salads. I also told him to stop buying bottled water to save money and the planet. I have good water and a water filter.

Sunday we had dinner and we were talking. He said he was able to get ahead and save money. He estimated that just a few changes and eating home at least 4 days a week he saved 100.00 or more a week. It all adds up especially if you're dating. He sat down with his GF and together they came up with a system so they could both save money and be more frugal. I was happy to see him do so because being frugal makes you think and more conscious of everything around you. Now if I can just get him into gardening!

[cinnamongrrl]

We attempt at a frugal lifestyle....no credit cards, we spend only what we have. We don't OWE anything to anyone (except the hospital, but that will be addressed)

However,

Fate has made other plans for us. We now have to buy a car that we weren't planning to buy. We had 2 cars paid for outright and now one (mine) has shit the bed, for lack of less colorful term. SO we are now forced to buy a car, AND have car payments AND have higher insurance payments.....sigh....

I'd much rather prefer buying a car outright...just saying....

[Mopsie]

*nudge*

I'm bumping this thread because I need all the help I can get with living frugally!

I'm waiting to hear about a second job that I applied for ... my full time Social Work job does not pay enough to pay the bills these days.

I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's ideas.

[Mopsie]

Originally Posted by Miss Scarlett

Another thing I did was to stop using the debit card from my checking account. I found that paying by cash makes me more aware of what I am spending.

I found this to be true for myself as well ... and it seems to be helping!

[Hollylane]

Entertainment and social events are available on the cheap! Check out Meetup.com for your area. Even if I don't often attend a meetup, I get a lot information about local events and areas through that website.

Mother nature is free, hiking, biking, walking, fishing, bird watching, geocaching, and picnicking! I also join up with others for volunteer work in my community and the Portland area.

I rarely pay for anything other than gas, park passes, and my fishing license/gear.

For home repairs/upgrades, I always check at Portland's Rebuilding Center, before I head to Home Depot. I can find nearly everything I need there, at ridiculously low prices, and sometimes things that I would never find anywhere else (or never thought of). If you are a homeowner, I absolutely recommend looking to see if you have something like this locally.

[Mopsie]

Originally Posted by Bit

I save every food bag that "zips" shut, especially tortilla and shredded cheese bags *awww come on, you don't think I was making my own tortillas when it was 103 out day after day? My window a/c was already struggling, yanno?* and reuse them when I scoop the litterboxes. Food bags are meant to keep odors inside; this means I can toss the zipped bag into my kitchen trash and not have to take anything out to big trash can immediately. No more using a clean bag for the scooping, and no more tossing the big kitchen bag before it's full!

Also, nothing holds used litter supplies like a big dog or cat food bag--they can't be recycled for anything else, they're waterproof, and they're big enough to hold everything when you clean out a litterbox. They don't seal but that's okay--I use them on trash pick-up day and they're the last thing in the kitchen trash bag before I throw the whole caboodle in the big can and wheel it to the curb.

What good ideas! *taking notes* I am definitely doing this!

[Mopsie]

Hollylane - Thanks for the post I'm going to try that website!

[cricket26]

1 Container of Name Brand Fabric Softener
4 Inexpensive sponges, cut in half

Pour entire container of softener into a 5 gallon bucket. Fill empty softener container with water twice. (2 parts water to 1 part softener) Add sponges to softener/water mixture. When ready to use wring out extra mixture from one sponge and add to the dryer as you would a dryer sheet.